Official Luthiers Forum!

I went shopping yesterday. Bought myself a monster of a thickness sander (16-32-style, only heftier and cheaper; chinese-made for a local grizzly-type business), a cheap belt/disk sander, and they had a solid looking woodturning lathe on sale, so I figured, 'why not?'

Thing is, I haven't got the first clue about turning, really, or about what size/types of turning tools I should aquire (a set? something else? large/small?). I definitely want to turn small objects (pens, control knobs), as well as the occasionaly larger object (bowls, pepper mills, that sort of thing).

Can anyone reccomend a book, DVD, set of tools (or what to look for in second-hand tools) for general turnery?

Mattia, Axminster list 16 books on woodturning including one that's called Woodturning: a Foundation course, which would seem to be the sort your after. They also stock an enormous array of woodturning tools and timbers and pen bits and pieces. Have a good look through thier catalogue, or website for inspiration. Craft Supplies are also a good source of stuff.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I didn't turn the page in Axminsters catalogue. They also list half a dozen or so DVDs on woodturning.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Mattia-
I do some woodturning from time to time, including end pins and knobs.
Aside from an array of cutting and scraping tools (which you can get used or custom-grind if necessary), the most useful accessory I've got is a chuck (4-jaw). With it you can hold rounds, squares, and also stuff like bowls and plates.

There are two well-known brands:
Nova chuck

Oneway chuck

BTW, these are not the standard metalworking style 4-jaw chucks- they are self-centering.

Unfortunately the chuck will probably cost almost as much as a cheap lathe, but they are very useful. You can improvise a wooden holder for some items (using your faceplate), but these chucks save a lot of time and are very secure.

Cheers
John

I have a Nova chuck, two faceplates, and a drill bit type chuck. Those work for everything I've turned. I'm not very experienced with mine yet, but I have turned pens, walking canes, two sets of chess men, dining table legs, small bowls, etc. (I haven't touched the lathe since I started building guitars).   The choice of turning tools is staggering. I have accumulated around 16 items, but actually use only 4 or 5 for most things.

You need a good 3/4" roughing gouge, a parting tool, a bowl gouge (I recommend one with swept back sides), a scraper, and a spindle gouge. With these, you can turn nearly anything. For pens you probably should repeat all those items in a smaller size.


This is the best source I know of for general turning supplies:


The Woodturner's Catalog


Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

You might check on the forum at woodnet.net, they have a section on woodworking. I don't turn, but it's an excellent site for general woodworking stuff. People are friendly there, too. I never post but I lurk there everyday.

woodnet forum

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Sorry, they have a section on "wood turning", not woodworking... the whole thing is woodworking.

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Thanks for the tips, guys! I'm off to read a little and buy a book and/or DVD or two, I think...